The Assisi Post

+JMJ+

I got back yesterday afternoon from a weekend spent in Assisi.  When I would tell people that I was studying abroad in Rome for a semester, about half of the time, I would hear, "Oh, you HAVE to go to Assisi!"  Now, I understand why.  My experience in Assisi this past weekend was incredible, something that I'll remember forever.  It's truly indescribable (at least, no one could have adequately explained the experience of being a pilgrim in Assisi to me), but I'll do my best to write about it!

Let's start with the basics: what exactly was I doing in Assisi?  Why did I go?

I went to Assisi as a pilgrim, someone who visits a holy place with a prayerful disposition and the intention of receiving special graces from God (please, correct me if I'm wrong here).  I know before this trip, whenever someone would talk about going on a pilgrimage, I always got the sense of a pilgrimage being just a vacation to a holy place.  Well, this weekend, one of the graces I received was coming to a better understanding of what a pilgrimage actually is.  I know, for me, that's something I almost definitely couldn't have understood without actually going on a pilgrimage.  I am so thankful!

Ok, that was slightly off the path of sharing the basics of my Assisi visit.  I'll return to my experience as a pilgrim in my next post; for now, back to simply explaining where I went and what I saw.  Assisi is where St. Francis lived his life (hence, St. Francis of Assisi), from his birth in 1181 or 1182 to his death in 1226.  Another quick, but important, digression: let's clear up something about St. Francis.
What most of society thinks about St. Francis:

Nature loving hippie who talked to animals and hugged trees

The reality of who St. Francis was:

A man who heard the call of God, gave up everything (he was a wealthy noble!) for a life of poverty and penance, embraced and cared for lepers, loved and cared for his brothers, led a life of both contemplative prayer and public preaching, suffered much from illness and the mystical gift of the stigmata (he received the wounds of Christ!), founded the Franciscan order, and "rebuilt the Church".  Yes, tradition tells us he preached to the birds too, but he loved nature because it gave glory to God!

We visited a number of important sites from St. Francis' life.  We saw where he was born and where he died.  We saw his house, including the "prison" room where his dad locked him up.  We visited the hut where Francis and his brothers first began living their radical life of poverty.  We saw the San Damiano cross, from which Francis heard God's command, "Francis, rebuild my Church."  We saw the tomb of St. Francis and the remains of five of his companions (which they just found in December of 2012!).  We saw the San Damiano church/convent that Francis "rebuilt"; this was also the convent where St. Clare and her sisters stayed.  She performed many miracles there and died there.  We saw the tomb of St. Claire, her habit, and Francis' habit.  The place where we stayed was very close to the Basilica Santa Maria Degli Angeli (St. Mary of the Angels).  This church is built around the Portiuncula, also called the tent of forgiveness.  St. Francis lived much of his life in this area and died in a spot that is now built into the basilica for veneration.  The last place we visited was the hermitage of St. Francis, a cave up in the mountains, a ways away from Assisi, where he would go to spend time in prayer.

I have to run to class, but I want to tell you so much more!

Coming soon!

I want to tell you more about my hike up to the hermitage of St. Francis.

Also, I realize that a lot of the terms I've been using in my blog (veneration, basilica, transubstantiation, stigmata) are not exactly part of the vernacular or else may be commonly misunderstood.  From now on, I'll try to briefly explain some of the terms I've been throwing around that may not be "common knowledge," that often I myself need a more concrete understanding of.

Also, real pictures coming soon!